AFSCME Local 189 backs Jo Ann Hardesty for Portland City Council

Members of AFSCME Local 189, the largest union of City of Portland employees, voted July 10 to endorse Jo Ann Hardesty for Portland City Council Position 3 at their July 10 general membership meeting.

Local 189 earlier backed Andrea Valderrama for that seat in the May primary, but she placed fourth in a field of six. Hardesty, a former state legislator, came in first with 44 percent of the vote, followed by Loretta Smith, with 22 percent. Hardesty and Smith, a Multnomah County commissioner, will face each other in a run-off on the Nov. 6 general election. Both candidates have union endorsements.

Portland City Council is a non-partisan office. All four City Council members and the mayor are elected at-large in Portland.